Part Two:

The last day of the cattle drive had passed quickly. When I explained to Seth about the quicksand accident, his lips pressed together in straight line, face taught. I didn't know if it was because I had been in so much danger, as had Dalton, or because I hadn't stopped Dalton's explosion. The reason I was mad at myself was because I had the cheque in my pocket at the time.

Cleaning the house had indeed been a chore. With a medical mask over my face, rubber gloves and rubber boots, I had done another inspection before the ultimate clean had begun. First, I had swept every floor. Then vacuumed them, including the surfaces I could reach with it. Next I had taken an army of cleaning supplies and cleaned every counter, sink, toilet, bathtub, wood surface, and wall there was. Next I had washed all the floors with a heavy soap, bleach, and vinegar. I scrubbed windows while Seth power washed the porch and the outside. Hey, if we were going for clean, you might as well get it done well.

There wasn't an inch of that house that hadn't been cleaned when I was through. With loads of air freshener, and Febreeze, the house smelt and looked liveable.

Lots of furniture had to be thrown out, for example most chairs and couches. The bed frames were usable, but the mattresses were junk. Anything else left in the house was garbage if it wasn't good furniture.

With the purchase of only the essentials (mattresses, bed sheets, etc,) and the luck that the house already had a perfectly good T.V in it, we were moved in.

With Part A complete, Seth laid out his plans.

"I'll be back out on the road soon." He meant the rodeo circuit.

I sighed. "So soon?" I actually enjoyed having my 'Sethy Bear' around.

He gave me a hard look. "I already missed the spring season, and I'll miss half the summer."

Biting my lip, I glance out the freshly cleaned window, at Jessie and Dalton still confined to the corral. "You can't miss one year?" I'd be all alone in a strange state.

The look he gave me was definite. "You want your mustangs?"

"Yes." I guiltily looked away.

"You want this ranch running?"

"Yes."

"You want a roof over your head?"

"Yes."

"Food on the table? Taxes and bills paid?"

"Yes."

"Then I need to go make money to keep up those things." But he wasn't blaming me for wanting all those things. He was just setting it straight that it was his responsibility.

His eyes softened a little. "I don't want to let you down Darcy."

I couldn't meet his hazel eyes. "You won't. Believe me…you won't." the softer side of Seth always made my heart ache. It was in these moments that I knew he loved me for sure.

"You'll stick around 'till I get my horses, right?" I let the emotional moment pass. "Yeah, but make it soon." Seth was his regular outer self again. "July I'm headed out."

Time to start Part B.

Seth and I rode around over a thousand acres of our ranch, checking for breaks in the fences, or sagging and downed fencing. Then, we had to re-fence and fix most of that.

For the next couple of weeks, we slaved hard in the sun, building smaller pastures for the saddle horses. Next, we had to renovate most of the barn, then make it horse-usable, by building stalls, a feed room, and a tack room. Then make the hayloft suitable to do just that- store all the hay we had just bought. It took quite a chunk out of my twenty thousand Seth had recently exchanged for cash, but I'll tell you, when I looked at the efficient and new ranch, it was worth it.

When the beginning of June rolled around, we were all set.

Part C ready to initiate.

It just happened to be one hot day June day, with me sprawled lazily across the porch in the sunshine, that the phone rang for me. Sam, calling to invite me to Willow Springs Wild Horse Sanctuary with Jake and her dad.

"We'll be seeing the mustangs today." I called happily to Seth, who was lying beneath the battered truck, fixing one its million problems.

"Good." He called without coming out. "The sooner you get this thing rolling, the sooner I can hit the road.

I tired not to let it hurt my feelings.

"You may be eager to leave now, but you'll miss me Seth Marshall, wait and see." I came to stand by his legs, the only thing poking out from under the rusty vehicle. "Besides, didn't you hear me? We are going to see the horses."

He grunted.

"I need a guardian over eighteen to sign for me." I said, laughing.

"Do I look like I'm not busy?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on Seth." Then I looked out to the road, seeing Wyatt's truck rolling along. "Wyatt will show the way. We just gotta follow him."

"Sure." He said noncommittally.

"Besides…" I looked down at him slyly, though he couldn't see me. "Maybe I'll pick you one out."

Even from out here I could hear his snort. "Nothin' you say could ever get me to ride a mustang."

I sighed, lifting my velvet hat off my head, running fingers through my sweaty and sticky hair. Good thing the hat would cover most of it.

The sound of tires on gravel brought Seth out from under the truck.

"Thank you!" I would have ambushed him with a hug if he hadn't been on the ground.

He grunted. "Guess I can work on the truck later. Nothin' that's gonna stop it from starting."

Jake, driving, rolled down the window. Sam waved.

"Hey." She called, though she was squeezed between Jake and Wyatt.

I waved back. "Just leaving. Show us the way."

Jake started to back the whole length of the driveway.

"I'm driving." I said to Seth as I scooted ahead of him and into the driver's seat.

He looked at me for a moment, about to say something, then changing his mind. He wordlessly climbed in the passenger seat.

I attempted to back out too. It was probably more than I could manage with my skill, but I wouldn't be outdone by anyone.

"This 'cause he's driving?" Seth said, looking amused as I cast a glance at him.

"No." still, I kept my eyes glued to the review mirror, trying to keep up in the reverse.

"Whatever you do, don't put my truck into river."

It was hardly a river. More like a wide, somewhat steep creek.

Finally, Jake reached road and back onto it, my following close behind. The road to the Wild Horse Sanctuary was rough, unfortunately for me. The bumps and pot wholes tried to tug the wheel away from me, but I kept up with Jake's speed, keeping the wheel steady.

Though it didn't feel like we were travelling uphill, the land was dropping away to step cliffs as the road narrowed, no guard-rail to stop us if we were to swerve. My heart pounded a little. I was in charge of this rig, and it meant death, if not bad injury, if I were to drive it off the road.

Looking out behind, I could see the glittering blue of the river like a ribbon, and the dotted houses and barns as ranch land and open wilderness stretched out beneath us.

The road started down hill when we reached the utmost peak, winding, as Willow Springs came into view.

Excitement thumped in my chest.

The pens for the horses were clean and open, not crowded or muddy, like I may have expected. The mustangs looked well taken care of and healthy.

I watched them as we drove past the pens.

Sorrels, bays, blacks, grey, not concerned, yet a little wary. In many ways they all shared the same sturdy and hardy look.

A red haired woman approached as me and Seth climbed from the truck, as did the other three.

"Hello." She said as Seth and I came to stand with Sam, Jake, and Wyatt. "Are you thinking about adopting a wild horse?" she was like a vulture on road kill.

"Just looking." Wyatt said.

I opened my mouth to say otherwise, but the woman continued on. "We don't get many adoptions from local people." She peered at our license plates.

Though she looked professional in her khaki uniform and French braid, a splatter of freckles gave her a look of personality.

"We have a fair number of mustangs running on our ranch." Wyatt almost sounded as though he had to explain why was here.

"Have a look around." She gestured to the pens filled with horses. "And if you have any questions about the animals, just ask."

Sam was the first. "Are they all wild horses?"

Well, we were at a wild horse centre, weren't we?

"Yes, BLM is only charged with protecting free-roaming horses and burros." She had more patience than I would have had.

"What if a horse was free-roaming, but not a mustang?" Sam continued.

"Like a domestic animal turned free?" the woman seemed to know what Sam was hinting.

"Or one that escaped." Sam added.

"We look for signs of domestication. Marks on the nose from a halter, maybe. And we have a brand inspector with us when we capture horses. Branded animals are declared 'estray'. A second brand inspector checks horses before they're adopted too, just to be sure."

"And if there isn't a brand?" Wyatt asked, his eyes on the red head.

Oh. The Phantom. They meant Sam's Phantom.

"No lip tattoo or ear crop either?" when Sam nodded, she paused a moment. "The person claiming the animal might supply registration papers if the horse is a pure-bred- or convincing photographs." The woman was professional and helpful.

"What about a scar?" Jake tried.

"Not a chance." The woman gave a wave of her hand. "Anyone could tell a story about a scar." Then she looked at them curiously. "You three must be missing a horse."

"Not a one." Wyatt didn't sound happy she had asked.

A rumbling cloud of dust caught my attention. It came from the road.

"That rumbling means it's time to return to work. This drought's caused a couple of emergency gathers. If you'll excuse me."

I watched her walk away. When she had talked to us, or rather them, she had seemed overly formal.

A big tall man and a man with a clipboard stood ready to await what I assumed was the arrival of more mustangs. Mustangs that could be mine.

But another man caught my attention, standing with the other two. Droopy moustache, hound dog eyes…Flick. The jerk from the cattle drive, which seemed like both such a long time ago, and such a short time.

A horse trailer slowly pulled past us, and I caught a glimpse of horses inside. They were bringing in horses off the range.

"The stallions are in the gooseneck." The woman had returned to us. "The mares are in the semi. You might enjoy watching us unload."

Seth raised his eyebrows so slightly I was probably the only one to see. And the only one to decipher it. He knew watching scared, frantic, and confused wild animals unloaded and crammed into a pen wouldn't be fun, unless your version of 'fun' was sick and greedy.

Men checked gates and latches, pulling a loading chute around the trailer. A whip was out and ready to guide the horses along.

Through the trailer I tried to catch sight of what they looked like. I saw a creamy one that caught my eye amidst the darker stallions.

Pretty.

Hold on. A creamy, pale horse? What if it was the Phantom?

I glanced at Sam. Her hand was gripped tightly by Jake's.

Wait.

What?

I hadn't pegged them as a couple, but how did you explain holding hands?

Not the time and place, I told myself, because the first horse raced from the trailer.

It was the pale one. He glistened in the sunlight, a stout pony type horse, and a very light red dun, like the colour of a gentle orange sunset.

I smiled to myself. He was cute. He trotted around the pen, calling out and arching his neck.

A herd of eight stallions were formed, and then in a separate pen, the mares were unloaded.

The mares flowed out of the trailer faster than the stallions, racing nearly two at a time from the dark enclosure.

A squeal turned my attention to the stallions. The pony mustang had thrown himself at a bay, leaving a nice open bite wound.

"Its happens once and a while." The red headed woman said, "But not often. Sometimes there's one horse just itching to prove he's in charge."

"Just like people." Jake mused.

"They've got a caste system." I turned my attention back to the mares after speaking thoughtfully.

My comment had gone unnoticed.

"Precisely." She said to Jake alone. "We've got a vet who'll check that bite."

In a flash of silver-brown, a pale grullo mare careened ahead of the other mares, lapping some, calling out constantly. Flighty thing.

"Don't all those horses, loaded with potential, make you want to go on a shopping spree?" the woman was trying to appeal to us, obviously.

The red dun stallion would produce interesting colour, but he was small and his movement and build didn't suite me.

The gangly bay would add good height to a herd, and though he was put together not badly, he seemed just plain.

There were two black stallions in the pen, but one I was really struck on. His body was muscular and compact, glistening raven. He had three white socks that stood out nicely against the black, and a wide, clean strip that ran down a sculptured head. His legs were straight and slim, and he seemed to be the best mover of the bunch, floating light on his feet. He looked like the king of the horses in the pen, and acted like it too. His personality attracted the eyes of all.

He reared up, warning off all stallions that came to close, snaking his head, halo of black mane whipped out, before falling scatterdley over dark, sharp eyes. He twisted and reared up again, striking out with a delicate front leg.

I heard Seth suck in his breath, watching the stallion.

He reminded me of a Spanish mustang, the beautiful and rare horses originally brought over by the Spanish

Wyatt tore his eyes from the black horse before responding to the woman, quite contrary to what he had just seen, "Not hardly."

"What about that black mare with white socks?" she turned to Jake and Sam. "Don't you kids think she'd be just right for your mom?"

"He's not my dad."

"My mom's dead."

Their voices overlapped each other.

"I'm sorry." She paused a moment. "A man with two teenagers-"

Wyatt waved it away. "Understandable."

The woman then turned to Jake. "That buckskin filly is quick as a cat. I bet you can school her into a fine cutting horse."

Jake shook his head.

Ooh. I did like that buckskin. She had clean legs and an athletic build, wiry and muscular, looking like she could move in a hurry. A pretty head with fine eyes added to my love for buckskins, and I was sold on her.

She then looked Seth up and down. "That sorrel would be a great little horse for you girlfriend." She then looked at me. It took a minute to piece together.

Then Seth was holding up his hands, and I was rushing to correct her so fast I could barely get the words out straight. "No, no, no, I'm his sister, not his girlfriend."

Twice she'd made a mistake, but she didn't seem discouraged. "Sorry about that. In that case, then, the brown mare would be a perfect working ranch horse." When Seth didn't seem impressed, she added, "Or roping."

That hit the nail on the head.

I saw a bunch of different expressions that crossed Seth's face, and a number of words that almost passed through his lips, but he just shrugged. "Got too many ropers already."

Yeah right, he only had two. But Seth didn't indulge in having more horses than earned their keep. I was just pleased he didn't tell her what he thought of mustangs.

"If I didn't have two mustangs and a wild burro already, I'd take that buckskin home with me." The woman sighed.

So what was I, chopped liver?

"I'm interested in adopting." This time when I spoke, the woman actually took notice of me. And Wyatt, Sam, and Jake all looked surprised.

The red head looked me up and down, from my scuffed cowboy boots and faded jeans to my dusty hat.

"How much is an adoption fee?" I asked as I strode over to the mare's corral. I was the centre of attention now.

The woman followed me, as did the rest. "One hundred twenty five. Of course, we'd need to know you have a decent place to keep it."

"A ranch just down the road. Ask Wyatt." I said, and when Wyatt gave a nod, the woman seemed satisfied enough.

"That would be sufficient."

"How many head have ya got here?" I asked, peering at a sturdy brown mare and sizing her up.

She looked at me again, curious. "Seven wild burros and one hundred and four mustangs."

I nodded.

"What are you interested in?" she almost leaned against the corral.

I looked through the plastic rails. "The buckskin filly for sure. I'm not sure about that grullo. The little red dun would be good gelded and made into a little 4-H horse for some kid. That sorrel mare is sure pretty. Looks like she's got a lot of Quarter horse in her."

She nodded. Then, after looking me over one final time, said quietly in front of everyone, "With that gorgeous black stud, the two of you'd be a real team."

I was surprised.

Then I composed myself. "Maybe." But the honest look in the woman's eyes made me blush.

I thought quickly, calculating everything in my head. "Can I leave you cash for twenty three mustangs and all your burros?"

I heard Sam gasp, and I knew there wasn't a person standing here, other than Seth, that wasn't surprised.

The woman blinked, taking it all in. "That'd be fine. But I need the signature of your brother if you're under eighteen." She said carefully.

I handed her a deposit of a thousand dollars. I'd pay up the other two thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars later.

"Now, to pick out these horses."

XxXxX

Somehow, I had ended up sitting in the back of Wyatt's truck. Dirt and hay littered the back of the truck, but I didn't mind.

I was floating on air.

Of the twenty-three mustangs I had picked out, the pretty buckskin, flighty grullo, and the Spanish stallion had been among them. The next had been a number of gray and white pinto mares, and a gray and white stallion, along with a cocoa brown appaloosa and shy black mare. Then I had chosen some mares at random, a sorrel, a chestnut, a couple bays and browns, a pale palomino, and a couple of foals.

The woman had looked gratefully at me as we headed out, introducing herself. "I'm Brynna Olson. I'm so glad these horses are going to good homes." But she looked at me with curiosity again. "But, may I ask what you're going to do with twenty-three horses and seven burros?"

I shrugged. "Let them loose to be free-rangers on our ranch. It's sort of the beginning of a mustang refuge."

Brynna had smiled.

Now though, Seth had headed home, and Wyatt said he was going into town, and offered for me to come along. Of course, there was no room in the truck for me, so I stated I had no problem riding in the bed.

The wind cooled my sticky hot face, and I was thoroughly enjoying sitting here. My thoughts kept drifting to the mustangs and burros. The Burros were adorable wild donkeys, and I made a mental note to keep one of the jacks for myself, as there were three jennies, two babies, and two jacks.

I was bounced around like a Mexican jumping bean, but that was okay, because I could hardly stand the thought that I had to wait until tomorrow for Brynna's pre-adoption inspection of the farm, and then BLM would drop off the animals. And who knew? Maybe I could find a horse for Seth. I didn't count on it though.

My thoughts bumped along like the truck, switching subjects in a blink of an eye. Since the cattle drive, I hadn't seen the young cowboy Pepper, as he worked full time for River Bend. I also hadn't gotten to know Jake very well, though he stayed so quiet most of the time around me.

The truck rapidly slowed down, throwing me into the back window with a thud.

"Sorry." I heard someone in the truck say in a muffled voice.

I straightened. "S'okay." I said to myself.

The truck was turned off. Why were we stopped?

I heard voices drifting out the open window.

"…On the drive, that gray horse, like Smoke…He came back to me…" it was the voice of Sam. And it sounded like she was explaining to Wyatt what had happened.

With a sigh, I heaved myself up to sit on the side of the truck, stretching my long legs out.

"…So you think it's Blackie."

Yuck. Once again, Blackie?

"…I can't read his mind or be sure he recognizes me, but he's come to the river twice. And I saw him two times on the cattle drive. Once, he was almost close enough to touch." Sam skipped the major part of how he was close enough to touch.

"At the ranch and out there, it was the same horse, you're sure?" Wyatt seemed to believe her though.

I tuned out the voices, staring out into the heat. Black pavement shimmered, as heat waves rose up from the ground. The whine of a summer bug came through, as a big bird of prey circled the skies way above. The sky was a scorching summer blue, not a single cloud stretching across it.

"If you've seen the same horse four times in a couple weeks, that's just too often to chance."

I'll say.

Then there was silence, as if they were all shutting their eyes and basking in the sizzling sun as I was.

"…And there's not a darned thing we can do to get him back…"

I could fall asleep right here, posted on the edge of the truck.

"I don't want him back." Sam spoke quickly, which caught the attention of my sensitive ears, but Wyatt and Jake were louder.

"What?"

"…I've got Ace to ride, and I had my chance with Blackie and blew it…"

"…You want him to stay on the range…" Wyatt mused.

I tuned out again, listening to a bird chirp, letting the sun warm my face beneath my hat as I turned it up, feeling just as lazy now as I did this morning.

I'd have to find names for my horses…

A long blare of a horn made me jump, opening my eyes and blinking against the glare.

A sleek Cadillac pulled up beside the truck, and the window rolled down to reveal a driver with slicked-back hair and an over friendly grin.

"Been up to Willow Springs?" Linc Slocum yelled over the twanging of music blasting from the radio.

He hadn't gotten off on the right foot with me already, so he'd better make this good. He'd interrupted my little catnap

"Find any range rats worth the drive?" he asked.

Yeah, thirty, actually.

"'Fraid we're just coming home empty handed." Wyatt said. "Darcy got her share of 'em though."

"Did she now?" Slocum turned his gaze to me, sitting in the cab, and looked only a little bewildered at how I was in the back.

I nodded. "It's too bad Linc, 'cause you missed out on one great stallion." I said, baiting him. "He's a lot like that gray stud you like so much."

Slocum frowned at me. "There's nothing up there I want. Even if they bring in that white stud, I'm not sure I'd buy him." He took a puff of the big cigarette in his hand. "Although, there might be some Quarter blood in him. And maybe some Arab too."

I was pretty certain he was only repeating what one of his ranch hands, like Flick, had said. The guy probably didn't know a Quarter horse from Shetland pony.

"Hard to say." Wyatt started up the truck, sounding finished with Slocum.

Slocum didn't know when to stop. "Not that I'd put my registered mares to him. Still, he'd be good for breeding cowponies. Those mustangs have hard hooves, don't they?"

"Yeah." Wyatt shifted.

"You heard what I'm going to do, just before school starts?"

No. And by the way Mr. Slocum, I don't care.

"I'm getting both my kids new horses."

Oh my, the horror of it. Mini Slocums.

"Yes sir. An Irish heavy hunter for Ryan and an English thoroughbred with blood lines for Queen Elizabeth's own stables for Rachel to use in dressage." He puffed his chest like a proud bullfrog.

"That's great, Linc." Jake said, though his tone implied he didn't think it was. "But I thought Ryan was learning to rodeo."

Ooh, but if he was a cowboy, maybe I wouldn't have so much of a problem with this Ryan Slocum.

Daddy Slocum though, frowned. "Not if his mother has anything to do with it, and she does."

Slocum had a wife?

"Anyhow, if I do get the gray stallion, I'll just be sure to keep that jug-headed range rat away from the real horses-"

Sam must have been fed up, because she cut in, "If 'jug-headed' mean dumb, Mr. Slocum, I can't help but think how much smarter a mustang would have to be." her voice was sweet, but anyone could understand the underlining anger. "A mustang has to provide food, water, and shelter all for himself."

Slocum was annoyed, her interruption unexpected. "You'd think it would work that way, little lady. But it just doesn't."

I wondered how he would know.

"Still, I could turn a good old-fashioned bronc buster loose on that Phantom. In an hour, he'd be thrown, hog-tied, sacked out, and taught some manners. Then I might make something out of him."

He was going to break Phantom's spirit. Destroy his will, force and bully him into obedience. It made me mad.

"You can't break a horse yourself, Mr. Slocum?" I shot, eyes narrowed and hat brim pulled low. Back home in Texas, when I did that, anybody knew to stay within fifteen feet away from Darcy. 'Cause that meant she was ready to fight. "Never mind. I shouldn't have asked. I'm just shocked you actually know words like 'hog-tied', and 'sacked out'."

Slocum's face was red with rage, but I kept going. "In fact, people who have to beat horses into submission really don't have that much skill after all. They're bullying a thousand pound animal that's gonna come back at them one day. And that ain't gonna be pretty."

If looks could kill, Slocum would have had me dead.

"I think you need to keep your mouth closed, miss, otherwise you'll be making a lot of enemies here in Nevada. In fact, I don't like delinquents much, even if you is a lady. I'd think it'd be best if I tell the Sheriff to keep an eye on you."

My hauty glare read 'just go ahead'.

"My wrangler Flick is up at Willow Springs, making a few extras dollars. I'll have him keep a watch out for that stallion." Slocum said, and I felt sick.

"Yep, that guarantees I'll be the first to know the stud's been captured, and the first to show the legendary stallion who's boss."

The reason my stomach was twisting so badly was that because of my threat, Slocum was even more determined to get the Phantom, and lay his hands on him. He would stop short of nothing to destroy the horse.

XxXxX

Like Wyatt had said to Seth, we would go for lunch in Alkali. And it was a good thing I was in the cab of the truck, because I was pretty sure Wyatt wasn't too happy with me.

When would I learn to get a hold on my temper and keep my mouth shut?

We pulled into Alkali, a tiny town with a few little houses, a gas station and a restaurant that looked like an old-fashioned diner.

Nobody said a word to me as I climbed from the back and we entered the diner. On one wall, a banner read 'HOME OF THE BEST PINAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE IN THE WORLD' and beneath it, another sign saying 'CLARA'S'.

There were a collection of hooks beside the door that Jake, Wyatt and I hung our hats on. I hoped I didn't have hat hair as bad as I though I would.

Wyatt ordered cheeseburgers and fries as we sat down, and I dug into mine gratefully. Best burgers I'd had in a while, and the big fan overhead kept the restaurant cool.

I figured I was forgiven.

"How can we keep Mr. Slocum from getting my horse?" Sam asked when we had all finished eating.

Jake shook his head. "What makes you think he'll be caught?"

"If he was caught, what would we do." Sam corrected her question.

Wyatt sighed. "We'd have to adopt him, and that'd cost money."

Sam shrugged it off. "I know, but Aunt Sue could send me my birthday present early. You know she would, and she always sends a hundred dollars.

"That wouldn't pay the adoption costs, let alone his feed."

The waitress came and dropped the bill on the table.

"I have my savings account." Sam began, but the look on Wyatt's face said her efforts were a lost cause.

"I'll think about it, but if I'm going to be forking hay to an animal all winter long, he's gotta be good for something. Handling cattle. Dragging firewood. Riding out to check cattle, even." He pointed out.

"On a ranch, we all earn our keep. You do chores, I see that the cattle operations turns a profit, and Gram does everything nobody else has time for. Jake here, does as he's told."

Jake laughed as Wyatt smiled. "Yes sir."

The Wyatt looked weary again. "I don't see a four-year-old stallion who's been running wild doing much more than causing trouble."

I was a little uncertain to give my opinion after my outburst at Slocum. "If you needed too, I could adopt him, and Sam wanted him to still run wild, right?" when Sam nodded, I continued, having Wyatt and Jake's attention. "He could be part of my Sanctuary, with his own herd. He'd be as close to wild without it being the real thing as possible."

Sam nodded slowly, but I knew she didn't like the thought of the Phantom being anybody but hers.

"Even then, Sam could work with him instead at my place, and when he's ready to be a ranch horse again, I'd 'sell' for about a dollar, because it'd be safer for legal causes if she has a bill of sale, and he'd be Sam's."

I knew Wyatt didn't like that I'd be willing to pay for the Phantom and he wasn't.

"'Course I don't mind how it happens, as long as I can help to keep him out of Slocum's hands." I added.

Wyatt nodded slowly. "We'll see. Might never come to that anyhow."

"Yeah." Sam sounded relieved. "Maybe they'll never catch him."

Wyatt pulled some money out of his pocket and tossed it on to the table. When I offered to pay for my meal, he waved me off. Standing, he said, "You kids have some dessert. I'll be back after I see if Phil has that part I need for the well pump. That well needs to be re-drilled." He mused. "But until we can afford it, I'm going to patch it together for one more year." Then, he left the diner, the door closing behind him silently.

"Just get me a candy bar." Sam told Jake as he stood. He came back with three chocolate bars, and tossed them on the table.

I carefully unwrapped mine, only half wanting it.

"Making that stallion useful would mean training him." Jake said after a time.

"You're good at working with horses Jake. I've been watching you with Pocahontas. I know you could help me with schooling him. You did it before." Sam voiced.

Jake continued on, almost in a musing tone. "It would mean gelding him, too."

That would be more money for them.

"But he would have such beautiful colts." She protested.

"I don't think Wyatt has much use for a breeding stallion around the place. They're unpredictable." He paused a moment, looking away, and then looking back at her. "Besides, you heard Slocum criticize mustangs, and what he says is mild. Lots of ranchers think they should be gunned down on sight."

"You're saying no one would pay to breed mares to him, no matter how strong, fast, and smart he is?"

"I know it sounds harsh, but it's true." Jake said.

I nodded. "People only pay to breed to purebreds, proven purebreds, at that."

Sam understood. "Besides, he'd be miserable."

"Dangerous, Sam. When a stallion's scared, he's dangerous. Got it?"

"Yes, I've got it." She said a little irritably. Then she looked thoughtful. "You might be right. Think of the little stallion staking out his territory in the Willow Springs corral."

Jake's face grew dark. "I didn't say a stallion like him, Sam. I said that particular stallion. The Phantom. Blackie. Whatever you called him before." He suddenly looked up, taking note of me.

I stood, a little awkward. This was getting intense. "I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back." I said, and Sam kept her eyes glued to Jake's.

Jake didn't speak until I was almost at the door to the restroom.

"He nearly killed you."

I opened the door, letting it swing shut behind me. Still, I could hear their words faintly through it. And lucky for me, because this was getting good.

"He wasn't trying to-"

"Sam. Shut up." –a pause- "Sorry. I didn't mean 'shut up'. Could you just listen a minute? This talk between us has been a long time coming. We're going to have it now."

Did it have anything to do with them holding hands?

I glanced around the bathroom. It was small, old, but clean and well kept. A little open window let a breeze enter.

"Most of the time, I don't think we should even hang around together. I can't help teasing you, and you take it as a dare. That's why you keep getting in trouble." Jake sounded guilt ridden.

"I get in trouble on my own. You've got nothing to do with it." Sam protested.

I looked over my reflection in the mirror. My hair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It hung down straight, in a piecey sort of look, to the middle of my back. Honey blond, I had always called it.

"Don't try to lead me off the subject, Sam. We're going to talk about that day."

That day?

I was regarding the subject of my eavesdropping almost casually. I wasn't intensely interested, but this was interesting.

There was a pause before Jake spoke again. "When I tried all that Native American horse taming stuff with Blackie-"

"It worked." Sam interrupted, and Jake must have given her a look, because she was quiet for half a second before she hurried to reassure him, "Sorry, I'll be quiet now. But it did work."

"Yeah." Jake agreed, not necessarily in a happy tone though. "Most of it I'd do over again. Some of it I still do with rough stock your dad turns over to me." His voice changed. "When you gave him a secret name, sighed your breath into his nostrils, and mounted him for the first time in the river, it all worked."

Secret name? 'Sighing' into his nasal passage?

I caught my own eyes rolling in the mirror, flashing light brown, colour of the sand.

"That colt was yours, body and soul." Now Jake sounded like a lovesick fool.

He must have snapped out of it, because his view changed again. "But he's still got a horses' brain. We couldn't trust him to think for himself."

Couldn't trust him to think for himself? What, did he think horses had brains the size of peas?

"It was my idea to leave the ranch grounds." Sam said, and I could just imagine her arms crossed, defending her horse.

"I was older. I knew better."

"I remember begging."

My skin was deeply tanned, as were my arms and shoulders. But I was sure my legs would be a lot paler if I were to take off my jeans. But then again, I wasn't going to take off my jeans. And why I was so interested in my reflection, I couldn't say. But I wasn't going to break up a moment of Sam and Jake's little 'talk', and the only way I could not do that was by staying in this bathroom.

"So what? I shouldn't have given in to a little kid."

There was a lot of silence, as if they were remembering the day Sam got hurt.

"Everything was going fine." Jake said quietly, so I had to strain to hear. "You followed my directions exactly."

"That's because I looked up to you, Jake, even though you called me a brat and a tagalong and teased me unmercifully." Sam's joke sounded weak even to me.

"I only planned to take you out a mile or so, but Blackie was doing so great, we just kept riding." Jake continued.

"It showed how much time we spent gentling him. You taught me a lot, Jake." Sam prompted.

"All the way out, I opened the gates and closed them behind us. I don't know why I thought it was such a chore."

His voice was low, and I moved to press my ear against the door to hear.

"Coming back, I let you ride ahead, so you could maneuver Blackie to open the gate. You'd only been riding him for one day, though, and it was windy. Blackie was already starting to spook at blowing sagebrush. What was I thinking making you fight those gates?"

There was a lot of silence again, and I sighed, straightening to look in the mirror once more. I ran my hand through the bottom layers of my hair. If they didn't start talking soon, I'd leave the bathroom, and return to the table.

"Jake, when I asked you to help me with the gate, did you yell 'alright, you baby'?" Sam asked as quietly as possible. I barely heard it at all.

"Yeah, I said it." Jake sighed. "And as soon as you twisted around in your saddle and started yelling that you'd slug me if I didn't take it back, Blackie fell apart. He charged into the gate. You lost your hold on it and Blackie thought he was trapped."

Hmm, interesting.

"His shoulders were only pinned for a minute, but he reared to escape. I tried to ride in and help, but he bolted backwards, ramming into my horse. You stayed on, until he took off for the open range. And when you leaned down on the left to grab your reins, he got a glimpse of you and veered hard right. You went one way, he went the other, and his hind hoof caught you in the head." Jake sounded weary and guilty.

"I don't remember much after that." Sam confessed.

"You were unconscious. Your head was bleeding. I knew head wounds bleed a lot. I knew it, but it was your head. And there was so much…blood."

That's what happens if head wounds bleed a lot. Of course there will be blood.

Jake's voiced almost cracked. "I didn't know what to do."

Ride for help?

I knew I was so uncompassionate, but I can't be blamed for that, now can I.

There was more silence, and I was sick of standing in a bathroom waiting for their little friendship talk to end. Tugging up the waist of my low-rise jeans, I turned and pushed open the bathroom door.

"Can I get you two something?" the waitress asked, coming to stand by their table. Our table, though I had been all but exiled from it.

"No, we're just going." Jake assured.

On the way out, I noticed an add on the bulletin board. I stopped, hat in hand, to look.

Moving Sale:

Everything must go. Located just outside of Darton. Selling all cattle, horse, and livestock equipment, as well as house furniture and more.

As I read the words scrawled messily upon the page, Sam and Jake left the diner, heading down the dusty sidewalk.

I'd have to mention it to Seth. We needed stuff in our house, and cheap too, to make it a home.

I turned and settled my cream hat on my head, then pushed open the door and headed out into the heat, that hit me like a wave.

Once again, I overheard their words.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, galloping away, leaving you there all alone."

Sam placed a hand on Jake's arm.

"I'd heard not to move folks that were badly injured, so I didn't. But the whole way back to River Bend, and on the ride out, I kept promising God that if you weren't dead, I'd watch over you better."

Still on that subject?

"And I wasn't dead, which is great." Sam protested cheerfully, though in a forced tone. "But I'm a big girl now, and can take care of myself."

Jake stopped dead, and I shortened my strides. And then thought, why did I have to keep compensating for their moments of 'friendship'?

Jake looked at Sam hard. "A promise is a promise, Sam. Get used to it. I won't let anyone, Wyatt included, give that horse a second chance to kill you."

Uh, hello?

It wasn't the horse's fault she got hurt. It was his. The horse got scared, it was young, and in a new experience. He was the one that made her deal with the gates; he was the one that childishly agitated her. The horse had nothing to do with it when it came to the blame.

I almost blurted this out.

I saw Wyatt coming out of the store beside the gas station, looking happy, and carrying a cardboard box.

I hurried to catch up with Jake and Sam.

"If Buddy were crying for her lunch in the pasture, and Gram were in the garden, she'd hear, wouldn't she?" Sam asked him worriedly.

She was talking about the little calf she had saved on the drive.

"I don't know. Which pasture? Did you put her out with the horses?" Jake asked.

"No, the other pasture."

Jake shook his head. "Right by the barn? If you got those rails back up, alone, then you're stronger than you look, Wonder Woman."

"Rails?" Sam looked like she had been socked in the stomach.

"Yeah, the thing they use to keep animals in." I teased.

"The fence rails." Jake smiled, and then it faded. "We lowered them to back the truck in with hay last week. I should've had them back up by now, but since we weren't using it…"

"I hope buddy didn't miss the opening in the fence." Sam said weakly.

Jake gave her a hard look. "She couldn't have missed it, Sam. How could you not see the rails lying in the grass? They opened a hole big enough the drive the truck through."

"I was in a hurry this morning." Sam looked down, mumbling.

I didn't know how the drive home went for Sam, because I was once again sitting in the cab, but I didn't hear any yelling.

I watching the lowered sun scatter light upon the desert, and by the time we reached River Bend, the evening was inky dark. Pulling in, I saw Sam's grandmother leading a fully tacked Ace, and looking worried.

Buddy must have run off.

Wyatt rolled down the window. "What is it?" he called out to her.

"The calf's disappeared. I didn't go in for lunch until quite late. Then, I noticed her bottle in the refrigerator. I'd forgotten all about it. I was surprised she didn't remind me with all her bawling. I've scouted all over on foot, and I was just getting ready to ride out, calling for her." She said.

I dug into my memory, trying to find her name. Grace, I thought it was.

"Let me go." Sam was out of the truck in a flash, grabbing Ace's reins. "Please."

Jake and Wyatt climbed out, and I leaped from the cab.

"In a minute." Wyatt held out his hand. "First, explain to me how this happened."

"This morning, before I knew we were going to Willow Springs, I turned Buddy out in the pasture."

"Which pasture." Wyatt held her gaze.

"The one with the rails down." Her shoulders sagged.

"Did you help put them back?" Wyatt turned to Jake.

If he did, would the calf be loose right now?

"No, I uh, didn't notice they were down." Sam admitted shamefully. "About an hour ago, I mentioned what I'd done, to Jake, and he told me the rails had been down all week."

Wyatt's stare was rock hard.

"Better get going." He said finally.

"I'll get Witch and ride along with her." Jake offered.

Wyatt turned to him and snapped, "No, you won't. That calf was Sam's responsibility, Jake. Let her go."

"You want a ride home?" Wyatt said, though traces of his anger remained even when he faced me.

I shook my head. "No, but thanks anyhow."

When he opened his mouth to say otherwise, I quickly cut in, "I'll walk, and the exercise will do me good."

I waved goodbye and began the long walk home, in high-heeled cowboy boots, into the oncoming dark.

I guess I was just born stubborn.

XxXxX

-Rio